War & Disaster Profiteering

At least 232 civilians have been killed while working on U.S.-funded contracts in Iraq and the death toll is rising rapidly, according to a U.S. government audit sent to Congress. n addition, 728 claims were filed for employees who missed more than four days of work. Several hundred more were reported from neighboring Kuwait where companies working in Iraq have logistics and support operations. Read More

The U.S.-led authority that governed Iraq after the 2003 invasion did not properly safeguard $8.8 billion of Iraq's own money and this lack of oversight opened up these funds to corruption, said a U.S. audit. Read More

If Sunday's election triggers a civil war between Sunni and Shiite Iraqis, reconstruction may grind to a halt. If, however, the election gives the country's government greater legitimacy among ever-skeptical Iraqis, it could make the work of companies far easier. Read More

Riggs Bank pleaded guilty to helping former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet and the leaders of oil- rich Equatorial Guinea hide hundreds of millions of dollars. The federal judge questioned whether a $16 million fine agreed to by prosecutors was enough. Read More

Halliburton Co., the world's second- biggest oilfield services company, became the sixth-largest U.S. military contractor last year on the strength of its work to help rebuild Iraq and care for U.S. troops, the Pentagon said. Read More

A new study is particularly critical of donors' tendency to use large western contractors to repair infrastructure damaged in the war, importing foreign personnel and equipment at a huge cost. In Iraq, that policy has proved disastrous, one of the authors said. Read More

The Pentagon is offering bonuses of up to $150,000 to keep elite commandos, such as Army Green Berets and Navy SEALs, in the military and prevent them from being lured away to higher-paying jobs by private security contractors in places such as Iraq and Afghanistan, defense officials said. Read More

Pentagon competing with security companies for skilled commandos; Extra pay of up to $150,000. Read More

Acceptance of KBR into the project will provoke political controversy. Halliburton, previously led by the U.S. vice-president Dick Cheney, attracted criticism when it won a series of contracts to support U.S. military operations in Iraq, and took a central role in the reconstruction effort after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Read More

An American contractor gunned down last month in Iraq had accused Iraqi Defense Ministry officials of corruption days before his death, according to documents and U.S. officials. Read More